Wigan Athletic V Chelsea

Kick-Off: Saturday 26^th September – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The DW stadium

Wigan Athletic

League Position: 13th

Recent Form: LLLWL

Wigan feels must be feeling a tad short changed after a dramatic turn of fortune which has seen them go from beating Aston Villa at Villa Park to a resounding 4-0 defeat away at Arsenal. The fact that Wigan went down at The Emirates didn’t surprise us nor most punters but that was Wigan’s fourth defeat in six games and, after the hype surrounding Wigan’s opening day success at Villa, to see their team go onto record such drastic form must be deflating to say the least.

It’s down to manager Roberto Martinez to amend Wigan’s recent woes and get the club back on the winning track. However, another game with one of the title favourites won’t be what Martinez nor what the fans wanted. However, Wigan must compete each and every game and, despite the likelihood of Wigan getting nothing out of another game, Roberto Martinez will be trying his utmost to get something out of an almost impossible fixture.

Wigan were never fancied to cause an upset at The Emirates, against Arsenal last Saturday, but their performance was very poor on the day. They rarely troubled the Wigan goal, although they did rattle the post near the end. However, by then, Wigan were dead and buried and they will need to a much better start to this game then their last if they are to get anything from it. Wigan’s defending was also woeful and this is an area that needs to be addressed.

For Wigan to attain points in this fixture they would need one colossal performance from every individual who starts. They have a very good goalkeeper in Chris Kirkland and they can play pretty football at times but defending seems to be their biggest issue right now, with their defence often found wanting and missing at The Emirates last week. Both Paul Scharner & Mario Melchiot have bags of Premiership experience for Wigan in defence but they will need to step up to the mark and be the leader the Wigan defence needs if they are to keep an inform Chelsea at bay this Saturday.

Chelsea

League Position: 1st

Recent Form: WWWWW

With Man City’s 100% record in tatters, Chelsea currently remain as the only team left with an immaculate winning start in the Premiership after beating Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday. Carlo Ancelotti guided Chelsea to their sixth successive win of the season and in a comprehensive fashion. Their first goal came via a rare source in the form of full-back Ashley Cole, whereas their second came from Michael Ballack and then a confident Didier Drogba tapped home their third. All in all a comfortable Sunday afternoon for Chelsea as the momentum and confidence keep on building.  

Didier Drogba has been a right handful for every opponent he has faced thus far and his fine individual effort against Spurs took his tally to five goals in six league games. That’s a phenomenal start for a player that has had his critics over the last year or so. He was instrumental in their victory at the weekend, supplying Ashley Cole for Chelsea’s first and then adding the icing on the cake with Chelsea’s third. He has been their most influential player this season, with his sheer presence and strength in the ball his biggest attributes, in combination with one lethal strike of the ball. However, Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea will be without their figurehead up front as he limped off with just minutes to go at Spurs, and he will be massively missed by both the manager and the fans.

Tottenham did have their moments in the game but Chelsea had them at bay for the vast majority of the game, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side never really looking like relinquishing any of the available three points. Chelsea have now gone three points ahead of United in second and they remain firmly in the driving seat.

This should be another comfortable afternoon for Ancelotti’s men as Wigan will be licking their wounds after a 4-0 bashing away at Arsenal last weekend. A huge positive for the manager was that no one had to come off with any injuries of niggles so Ancelotti will have a full strength side to choose from and he could name an unchanged team for this game at the DW stadium.

Head-to-Head:

Wigan Athletic W: 0 Chelsea W: 7 Draws: 1

Chelsea dominate the head-to-head between the two with Wigan’s only success in this fixture being a 1-1 draw back at Stamford Bridge. However, that was two seasons ago and Chelsea have won the following three meetings. However, more importantly, Chelsea have won all four meetings at The DW stadium, with all but one being by just a one goal margin.

Over 2.5 Goals: 3 Under 2.5 Goals: 5

Previous meetings have generally been close run affairs, with often one goal separating the two. The last two encounters at The DW stadium have both finished Under 2.5 with Chelsea winning 1-0 last season and 2-0 the season before. Wigan have never beaten Chelsea at home and the Latics have only managed to score in one of the previous four meetings at home to Chelsea. That was a 3-2 defeat back in 2006.

Match Verdict: Chelsea to WIN – 2/5 Expekt

Everything points in the direction of another Chelsea win. The away side have the form, the quality and a vastly superior head-to-head record and, despite their short and unappealing odds, they should comply without too many scares. However, the absence of Didier Drogba could be costly as his five goals this season have been key to Chelsea’s early success. We’re hoping and somewhat expecting Nicola Anelka to come good for the Blues now and make that lone striker role his own while Drogba recovers.

Match Odds:

Wigan Athletic – 11/1 SkyBet

Chelsea – 2/5 Expekt

DRAW – 4/1 Bet365

SoccerBetting Tip: Nicolas Anelka to Score Anytime – 5/4 Bet365